What is the best public golf course in Wisconsin? Chances are, if you ask 25 golfers that subjective question at the 19th hole, you might get 25 different answers.
However, there's a good chance that many of them are included in a new paperback book that will be published this spring. "Golf Wisconsin: The Official Guide to the State's Top 25 Public Courses ... And 50 More Fun Places to Play" is a comprehensive portable that that can guide an ardent golfer's journey throughout the state.
The book is co-written by Jeff Mayers, founder and president of WisPolitics.com, and Jerry Poling, newswire editor and a columnist for the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
From the PGA Tour's venerable Brown Deer course in Milwaukee to Whistling Straits near Kohler, the new reference guide explains where to locate Wisconsin's best golf courses without the usual sky-high prices found at some private clubs.
Golfers can enjoy the spectacular scenery surrounding the courses, ranging from Lake Superior's Apostle Islands, the Mississippi River bluffs and Wisconsin's Northwoods to Lake Michigan lapping the eastern shore of the state.
Each of the 25 best courses is featured in a four-page layout with vital course information, a photograph and a graphic of a signature hole of the course.
An added feature includes pages filled with interesting tidbits and histories of 50 other top golf venues in the state, many of which include photos.
"Determining what's best when it comes to golf courses is a very subjective thing. But after writing about and playing golf courses around the state for many years, we've come to agree on what we like about our favorite course," Mayers said.
"We like courses that take us to pretty places, that provide a respite from a hectic world, that have some interesting history, that are designed by an architect who knows how to use the land not just bulldoze it, that give us a variety of challenges, that accept walkers, that pay attention to the details of greenskeeping, and that know how to serve customers. Wisconsin golfers are blessed because the state has all of that," Mayers said.
Mayers said Wisconsin public courses owe their unique feel to Mother Nature and to knowledgeable architects, including Pete Dye, Robert Trent Jones, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry, Tom Bendelow, Lawrence and Roger Packard, Art Johnson, Joel Goldstrand, Rick Jacobson, Bob Lohmann, Jerry Matthews, Robert Bruce Harris, Bob Cupp, David and Garrett Gill, Ken Killian and Dick Nugent as well as playing greats like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Andy North.
For the record, the top 25 public golf courses featured in the book are:
• Big Fish, Hayward
• The Bog, Saukville
• Brown County, Oneida
• Brown Deer Park, Milwaukee
• The Brute, Lake Geneva
• The Bull, Sheboygan Falls
• Erin Hills, Hartford
• Geneval National's Palmer Course, Lake Geneva
• House on the Rock, Spring Green
• Lake Arrowhead, Nekoosa
• Lawsonia Links, Green Lake
• Madeline Island, La Pointe
• Mascoutin, New Berlin
• Northern Bay, Arkdale
• Northwood, Rhinelander
• The Orchards at Egg Harbor, Egg Harbor
• SentryWorld, Stevens Point
• Trappers Turn, Wisconsin Dells
• Troy Burne, Hudson
• Turtleback, Rice Lake
• University Ridge, Verona
• Washington County, Hartford
• Whistling Straits, Haven
• Wild Rock, Wisconsin Dells
Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes in Milwaukee and is past president of the Milwaukee Press Club. BizTimes provides news and operational insight for the owners and managers of privately held companies throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
Steve has won several journalism awards as a reporter, a columnist and an editor. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
When he is not pursuing the news, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife, Kristi, and their two sons, Justin and James. Steve can be reached at steve.jagler@biztimes.com.
